Lord of Fortune

Emperor Chongde's punishment of Concubine Wu Gui, no, the punishment of Wu Guiren is not insignificant.

Directly from the position of a first-rank concubine to a sixth-rank noble, she has suddenly changed from a high-ranking concubine to a low-ranking concubine, and she needs to move from the main hall of the first palace to the side hall.

It's nothing more than a one-year penalty for the salary, anyway, nobleman Wu also brought a lot of money when he entered the palace, and he didn't rely on the salary to live, but the confinement for half a year basically shows that nobleman Wu has completely fallen out of favor.

Although the number of women in Emperor Chongde's harem was not as large as that of the late emperor, there were only a few high-ranking concubines, but there were still more young and beautiful low-ranking concubines.When Wu Guiren came out of the ban, Emperor Chongde might not even remember that there was such a person as her.

The deadliest thing was that after nobleman Wu was demoted, he was not even qualified to support the prince.According to the regulations of this dynasty, a concubine must have at least a fifth-rank concubine in order to raise her own child, otherwise the child must be raised by a high-ranking concubine.

To be honest, Empress Ding has long been annoyed by people from the Wu family's family targeting Empress Ding and Han Mengqin so many times.

Now, although Empress Ding can't clear up Han Mengqin's stigma right away, it would be nice to be able to vent her anger first.

It was the Wu family's place, she had to send someone to keep an eye on it, so as not to let them destroy the letters sent by the Jiang family, otherwise, there would be no evidence when they came back to settle the accounts.

"Qin'er's character, I know it all too well. She won't do anything corrupt. If she just wanted to make money, she wouldn't need to work so hard for these things. Now that the border is tight, I can't do it for you. This matter is a big one, but after this matter is over, I will definitely not treat her badly."

After Emperor Chongde said this, he was once again dissatisfied with the Wu family who found him a job at the critical moment.Some people are really hard to deal with.

Empress Ding lowered her head when she heard the words, with tears in her eyes: "As long as the emperor trusts Chenqie and Qin'er, Chenqie will not be wronged."

Emperor Chongde sighed, and took Empress Ding's hand: "If everyone knows the general situation like the empress, why should I be so sad?"

Empress Ding lowered her eyes, not everyone is like her, without any foundation and reliance, only the favor of Emperor Chongde.If the other high-ranking concubines were like her, I'm afraid they would be cautious in their words and deeds, instead of acting arrogantly because of having a strong natal family.

"Your majesty, I have an unfeeling request. Although the concubine believes in Qin'er's innocence, the common people don't know the truth, so they will inevitably think wildly. When the border war is over, can the emperor send someone with credibility to investigate the matter?" matter, still Qin’er is innocent?”

At this moment, Emperor Chongde felt guilty towards Empress Ding, as long as Empress Ding's request was not excessive, he would satisfy it, not to mention, the request made by Empress Ding couldn't be more normal.

"Okay, I promise you."

Empress Ding laughed through her tears: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

She has never been a person who repays grievances with virtue, and sooner or later she will pay back all the wrongs the other concubines and their families have caused her!

……

Just when the Jiang family and the Wu family joined forces to do something, the [-] reinforcements sent by Emperor Chongde rushed to the battlefield with the raised food and grass.At the same time, the vanguard led by Chu Chen, who had been "missing" for a long time, also achieved considerable results.

Rewind time to a few days ago...

When Chu Chen was sent by General Shi, who temporarily replaced General Ma as the chief general, to chase down the "defeated" Western Barbarian army, because Chu Chen had always been wary of the Western Barbarians, he was more careful when chasing them.After observation, he really found that although the western barbarians were in a hurry, they evacuated in an orderly manner, and they didn't look like they were fleeing.

However, at this time, the vanguard army had distanced itself from the main force behind, and it was difficult for Chu Chen to turn back and remind General Shi.When passing by a small forest, Chu Chen gestured to the people below.

When they rode through the grove, countless arrows shot out of the grove!

Fortunately, under the reminder of Chu Chen, the people in the vanguard were well prepared and raised their shields to protect their vital parts.

After Chu Chen raised his knife and severely deflected an incoming arrow, he raised his voice to the people behind him, "Prepare the torch—let it go!"

Hearing this, the vanguard soldiers behind him quickly raised their torches and threw them towards the grove.The trees were already flammable, and the wind fueled the fire, burning more and more vigorously. After a while, the grove where the archers were ambushed turned into a sea of ​​flames.Chu Chen took the opportunity to send people to surround the grove.As soon as the opponent's ambushed person escapes, he will be killed immediately on the spot.

Not long after, the opponent's people collapsed.

The Western barbarians didn't expect that Chu Chen had already seen through their schemes, and followed them up so quickly.

There were not many Western barbarian troops sent as bait, and most of the Western barbarian army had already quietly diverted to ambush the main force of the Zhenxi army led by General Shi.

Most of the [-] archers who were ambushing in the grove this time were already dead, and the remaining [-] Western Man soldiers were no match for the vanguard army led by Chu Chen. , was beaten to pieces by Chu Chen's [-] elite men.

Over the years, the Ximans have repeatedly violated the border, and the conflict with the Zhenxi Army is not insignificant. Naturally, the Zhenxi Army will not show mercy to the Ximans. In a short time, the remaining [-] Ximan soldiers were reduced to [-] or [-] , three thousand...

Under the merciless crushing of the Zhenxi Army, this group of Western barbarians finally couldn't stand it anymore.

The leader among them seemed to want to escape, but was blocked by Chu Chen with quick eyes and hands.

Chu Chen didn't like this kind of useless person who fled before the battle. He raised his hand and wanted to cut off the man's head, but saw the man covering his head with his hands, and said tremblingly: "I am the fourth prince of Ximan, don't kill me!" Me, otherwise, my father will definitely not let you go!"

"Fourth Prince?" Chu Chen narrowed his eyes.

He thought he just caught a small shrimp, but unexpectedly, he also met a big fish!

Having been entangled with the Ximan people for so many years, Chu Chen naturally knew that it was the second prince of the Ximan who sent troops to attack Daqi this time.These two princes are brave and good at fighting. It is said that they are the most similar sons of the Ximan king, and they are also the princes who are most valued by the Ximan king.

Although the first prince of the Ximan king was born to the queen, and the second prince was just born in a concubine, the first prince was born with deficiencies, and the second prince was brave and good at fighting. Therefore, the Ximan king valued the second prince more than the first prince.This time the second prince is going to fight, if he can win against Da Qi, then his popularity in Ximan will completely surpass that of the first prince, and it is very likely that he will be directly established as the heir apparent!

As for the four princes, they were also descended from a favorite concubine of the Ximan King.

Although the fourth prince has no skills, but he got his mother's true biography, he is very good at flattering the Western Man King, and he is also quite favored by the Western Man King.

When Chu Chen inquired about these news, he understood after a little thought.The fourth prince probably came out with the second prince to be gilded.However, the Western Man King had too much confidence in his army!

"Come on, tie him up for me!"

After the soldiers around him tied up the fourth prince, Chu Chen pinched his neck and said, "Tell me, if I bring you to your good second brother, what will he do?"

Hearing this, the fourth prince flinched: "My second brother doesn't have a good relationship with me at all. If it wasn't for my father's order this time, he would definitely not bring me here. If you bring me to him, say Maybe he will just shoot me an arrow..."

"Then what's the use of me wanting you!" Chu Chen loosened his hand, and the fourth prince fell to the ground in embarrassment: "Take you, and waste our food, so just kill him!"

"Don't! Don't! I know where the second brother hid the food, and I can take you to find it!"

The second prince, who was besieging the main force led by General Shi, was tricked by his unreliable brother without knowing it.

Chu Chen obviously also understands that there are only so few people around him, and it is impossible to head-on head-to-head with the main force of the Western Manchurian army led by the second prince.

Therefore, he saw the right time, and when the main force of the Western Man was dragged by General Shi, he quickly led his people to the food storage place mentioned by the second prince, and killed the few left behind neatly. After looting the food, they set fire to the barracks of the western barbarians.

The second prince's situation was just right, and he beat General Shi to the ground, but when he turned his head, someone noticed a burst of thick smoke coming from the direction of their camp: "Not good, go back and have a look!"

General Shi heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the retreat of the western barbarians who were still chasing after him, and hurriedly took advantage of this opportunity to retreat back into the city.

He decided that he would stick to this city from now on, and he would never fight directly with the main force of the western barbarian army again.On the battlefield just now, he really felt like he was going to be killed.

Chu Chen has been hiding in the dark to observe the movements at General Shi's place.Seeing General Shi like this, he knew that General Shi was hopeless.There is nothing wrong with General Shi charging forward, but when it comes to strategy...he really doesn't have such a thing.Counting on him to fight back will only lead everyone into the ditch.

Chu Chen understood that such a situation would not last long.After Emperor Chongde saw the crisis at the border, he would definitely send additional reinforcements until the western barbarian army was defeated.

As long as they hide themselves well and wait for the arrival of reinforcements, they will naturally not have to worry about their lives.However, they are destined to have no achievements in this war.When others talk about their Zhenxi Army, they will say that they are a group of losers.

Are you willing?Not reconciled!

Chu Chen's goal has always been very clear.He knew why he came to the border. He was eager to defend his family and country, and to make contributions so that he could go back and marry his beloved girl. He couldn't just go back in despair, otherwise, how would he face what was waiting for him? Han Mengqin who went back?

Not only Chu Chen was not reconciled, but the vanguard army behind him was also not reconciled!

Those who can be selected into the Vanguard Army are all elites selected from a thousand miles. The Vanguard Army can be called a sharp knife in the Zhenxi Army.

One of the soldiers who has made meritorious service on the battlefield many times suggested to Chu Chen: "Master Wan, why don't we carry out a sneak attack from time to time as before to wear down the combat power of the Western barbarians. Otherwise, let's start fighting." It's okay to take this prince to the front of the battle to make a meat-shield!"

The soldier's cold gaze swept over the fourth prince of the Ximan Kingdom who was bound into rice dumplings, and the fourth prince could not help but flinch.Fortunately, his mouth was gagged in advance, otherwise he might cry again.

"There is no need to be so troublesome. Now we have robbed the food and grass of the Western barbarians. If they don't want to withdraw their troops, they must solve the problem of food and grass as soon as possible. When the time comes, let's find the right place to ambush."

Chu Chen not only acted on his own, he also contacted several capable subordinates of General Ma - since General Ma included Chu Chen in his own category before, Chu Chen had his own way of contacting these people that completely bypassed General Shi.

After these generals received the news that Chu Chen had found a way to enter the city, they were both surprised and delighted.It is naturally a happy event for them that the juniors who admired them survived such a dangerous situation.Not only did this younger generation retain almost all of the combat power of the vanguard army, but they also captured the enemy's fourth prince who set up an ambush for them, and waited for an opportunity to sneak-attack the camp of the Western Barbarian army. Speaking of it, it's a bit frightening.

However, this is exactly what Chu Chen's purpose is.

If you want to persuade those veterans to follow him, how can you do it without showing some results?

Chu Chen can't always let these veterans define him as a "potential junior", he has to become someone worthy of new appointment and reliance in their hearts.

After the initial surprise, these veterans quickly accepted this fact.They have been with Chu Chen for a long time, and they all know that Chu Chen is not the kind of person who can talk big, and they are a little more moved by Chu Chen's "invitation".

In the evening, General Shi was still hiding in his room drinking, but the three generals invited by Chu Chen quietly gathered together.

"Hey, have you received the message sent by Boy Chen?" General Wang asked.

"Naturally, I was worried that this kid would not come back, but I didn't expect that he still has some abilities!" General Li seemed quite relieved.

"Heh, if he doesn't have any skills, can he catch our eyes?" General Bai's tone was slightly proud: "It's only been three short years since he entered the barracks, but he has done a lot in these years. We all see all these things. This kid is a natural general."

General Wang, who was the first to speak, was silent for a while, and asked General Bai, who was the last to speak, "So, you already have an idea in your heart?"

"Ah." General Bai glanced sharply at General Wang and General Li: "Don't tell me, you don't have any ideas about this—Who is more credible, Chu Chen or the one surnamed Shi? Can't come out? I, Lao Bai, have never fought such a useless battle since I was taken under the command of General Ma! If there is no chance, that's all. Now that I have a shameful opportunity, I don't want to wait! "

Hearing this, General Li clapped the case and said, "Well said, I thought so too! It's not enough to only catch a small fish like the fourth prince. Let's cooperate with Chu Chen, maybe we can also catch the big fish like the second prince." Take it! General Ma is still in a coma, if we can't do anything, how will we explain to him when he wakes up?"

General Wang was still a little hesitant at first, but after listening to the words of his two companions, he also made up his mind.

In any case, the situation will not be worse than it is now.

Chu Chen has only 1 people under his command, and they are able to cause so much trouble to the Western Barbarian Army, which is far stronger than him. If the three of them are added, maybe they can really earn back face for Daqi !

The three of them briefly discussed how to take the people under their command out while General Shi was not paying attention, which way to take to meet Chu Chen, and then returned to their residences.

General Shi, who was intoxicated to calm down the panic these days, did not notice that something was wrong around him. A soft-sexy dancer who was bribed by General Bai was still urging General Shi to drink.Some of his subordinates felt that something was wrong, but General Shi kept drinking with them, and their minds quickly became dizzy, and they had no time to think about other things...

In the middle of the night, General Bai suddenly got up from the bed, whistled, and a group of soldiers disguised as patrol soldiers that he ordered early gathered around him immediately, followed him and slipped out through the small door.He has led the army for so many years, and the soldiers under him have absolute trust in him. Although they don't know what their general wants to do, they just follow along.The same thing happened with General Li and General Wang.

The three parties were very careful, and there was no disturbance when they left. They didn't feel relieved until they arrived at the place agreed with Chu Chen and saw the person Chu Chen sent to meet them.

The next day, General Shi, who woke up from a hangover, found that nearly half of the people in his camp were missing, and the confidantes of the three generals, General Wang, General Li and General Bai, also disappeared, and he almost died of anger.Obviously he is the main general, what are these people going to do by sneaking away?

With half the number of people missing, General Shi felt very insecure, for fear that the city gate would be breached when the Western Barbarian army came to attack the city.After being ambushed by the western barbarian army and losing a lot of troops, and General Shi himself was almost beheaded by the second prince, he had already lost the ambition he had at the beginning.Now he does not seek meritorious service, but seeks no faults.

From General Shi's point of view, the Western barbarians were strong and cunning, and they should not confront them head-on. For them, as long as they guarded the fortress, it was enough. Why bother to provoke trouble?When those three people come back, he must deal with them according to military law!

At the same time, Chu Chen, who had just joined General Wang, General Bai, and General Li, had agreed on an ambush plan with the three generals, and quietly lay in ambush not far from the camp of the Western barbarians.

"They just had their food and grass stolen, and they must be more vigilant than ever at this moment. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to find a chance to make a move." General Wang looked at the soldiers constantly patrolling outside the enemy's camp, his eyebrows furrowed.

General Wang can't wait to lead people to kill them directly, but their combined manpower is less than 7 at full count, and the other party brought [-] troops when they went out. There are still nearly [-] people in the main force under the prince's command. Head-to-head confrontation is definitely not the best strategy for them.

General Li thought for a while, then looked at Chu Chen beside him.

At this time, Chu Chen, because of the many days of hard work, looked gray and smelled of blood on his body, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, like a knife opened. Leo-feng's treasure-sword.

It seems that this junior has really grown a lot during this battle. General Li is quite pleased that General Ma values ​​him so much.

"Achen, what do you think?"

On the battlefield, those with strength have the right to speak.Although Chu Chen is young, he has already proven his strength, and General Li will naturally value his opinion.

"I have brought people to burn the grain and grass of the Western Man. They won't last long. There will be movement tomorrow at the latest. They will either send people to grab the grain or flee back to the Western Man. Let's just lie in ambush on their way forward. A killing intent flashed in Chu Chen's eyes: "As long as we stay calm, we can win!"

"Then, in your opinion, are the Western barbarians more likely to retreat in a hurry, or are they more likely to grab food and grass?"

"If the leader of the Western Barbarians is me, in this case, I will choose to retreat. The Western Barbarians have already snatched food and grass from General Shi once before, but now General Shi himself does not have enough food and grass for his soldiers, and He huddled in the city and refused to come out. There was almost no possibility that the Western Barbarians would grab food and grass from him. If they were robbing the people—how much food did the people have? It was not enough for the [-] Western Barbarians. Under such circumstances, the Zhenxi Army can kill the Western Man Army even if it is exhausted."

"Under such circumstances, it's not bad to be able to preserve the remaining main force. But—" Chu Chen changed the subject: "As the leader of the Western Man, the second prince probably doesn't think so. After all, as a Bastard, the ability to compete against the eldest prince depends on his bravery. If he brings a large army to attack Daqi but returns without success, then his situation will only be more disadvantageous in the future."

General Li patted Chu Chen on the shoulder and said appreciatively, "You are amazing, you even know about the internal struggles in the West Man Kingdom."

"This is thanks to the fourth prince who is greedy for life and afraid of death. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't know so much." Chu Chen said: "So, I'm afraid the second prince won't just give up. But if there is a chance, he They will find a way to seize it. As long as he is still unwilling, it is our chance."

"If the second prince doesn't want to return without success, he must take down the city guarded by General Shi in the shortest possible time! In this regard, we can help the second prince so that he can make up his mind—for example, let him know that everyone The general is extremely dissatisfied with General Shi, the commander in charge of the battle, and has left here to join the reinforcements, what does General Li think?"

After hearing this, General Wang hesitated: "This... I am afraid that after the war, we will be criticized for making our own decisions and disobeying military orders?"

General Bai was eager to try: "I'm afraid of a bird, the emperor is not such a pedantic person! As long as we can show a good record, the emperor will not care about these things!"

General Li kept nodding at Chu Chen: "It's really you who came up with such a way in a blink of an eye. I think it's feasible! Just do as you say!"

"We must consume as much of Ximan's troops as possible, and capture the second prince alive, so as to repay Ximan's care for us all these years!"

General Li has always been known for his resourcefulness among the three, and seeing that General Li agreed with Chu Chen's idea, the other two generals naturally had no objections.

It was night, Chu Chen and others quietly lay in ambush on the only way for the Western barbarians to attack the city. They had already decided to use General Shi as a bait.When the western barbarians focus all their attention on breaking the city, this is their chance!

They didn't have to wait long for this opportunity.

An hour later, when General Shi received the news that the Western Barbarians had come to attack again, he panicked.

The western barbarian army was brave and good at fighting. This time, they were stimulated by some reason, and they showed more fighting power than before. They attacked the city gate frantically. The stones from the trebuchet smashed hard at the city gate A soldier who had no time to dodge was instantly smashed into a collapsed stone wall and submerged.

The Western barbarians also began to attack the wall with great effort. Several times, the Western barbarians almost climbed onto the wall.

Although General Shi's men successfully picked off the enemies who were about to climb up, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the loopholes in the defense are getting bigger and bigger. If this continues, it is only a matter of time before the city gate is breached.

"Damn it, if it wasn't for those people under the surname Ma who made their own decisions, this general would never have fallen into such a passive situation!" At this time, General Shi really hated General Li, General Wang and General Bai.

The people under him have already prepared for the worst: "General, go and change your clothes, if this city really can't hold on...as long as you can escape and hold on until the reinforcements arrive, we will still be able to survive!" hope!"

General Shi fell into hesitation when he heard this.To run away, for a general, it is undoubtedly a capital offense, but he doesn't want to die yet.

If he leaves Daqi, he may not be caught. He can go to Beiliang if he can’t hang around in Daqi, but if he chooses to stay here, he will have to die when the city gate is breached... General Shi almost instantly A decision has been made.

The soldiers fighting at the forefront didn't know that when they were fighting bloody battles, their acting general had already slipped away quietly.

When they came to ask for important matters and found that General Shi and his two confidantes had disappeared, the word collapse was not enough to describe their feelings.In the case of a very unfavorable war, this is undoubtedly a fatal blow to morale.

Just when the leaderless soldiers were almost numb and desperate, the situation on the battlefield suddenly reversed!

The Zhenxi army attacking from the rear of the western barbarian army, like a sharp knife, quickly-accurately-insert-inserted between the western barbarian army, and focused all their energy on fighting the western barbarian army at the city gate in front of them. I was caught off guard!

"It's Chu Qianfeng who is back!"

"There are also General Li, General Wang, and General Bai! No wonder the three generals were not there just now. They must have gone to implement some tactics?"

"Hold on, we won't lose!"

It only takes a few moments to go from the brink to recovering.

When the soldiers in the city cheered up and prepared to cooperate with Chu Chen and others to fight, everyone saw that Chu Chen raised his heavy crossbow and shot the second prince off his horse with one arrow. !

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